Broken Baby
by Adreus
Summary: discontinued — Sasuke finds a baby, one that cries, one that's left alone to die. Yet... when he holds him, the baby is silent, and Sasuke may find that the baby is bolder than he ever was. —Sasuke, Naruto.
1. Nichiyobi

**Notes: **I've been writing Broken Baby for a while; just didn't upload it until now because I wanted to get farther into it. This will be seven chapters, one for each day of the week. (Not that each chapter is a day - they're just named like that.) Reviews are much appreciated, critique especially.

This takes place after time-skip, in an alternate-reality sometime after Gaara's retrieval , where Sasuke kills Naruto during a rage because Naruto got to Itachi before him. After which, he is technically banished and finds a very interesting baby boy. And... that's where the story starts.

_NARUTO _is copyright Masashi Kishimoto and SHONEN JUMP. I do not claim any rights.

* * *

_Broken Baby_

Chapter 1: Nichiyobi

* * *

He finds himself in a desert, the sun cruelly glaring at his back. His shoulder prickles, but he has learned to ignore the pain. It is hard to walk; though the burden has been lifted, his heart is now heavier than ever before. The weakness in his heart is reflected in his eyes. They are lonely, lonelier than before.

He walks in a daze, the sand sinking under his feet with every step. Had he truly done it? Had he murdered his best friend with no mercy? What was it that had triggered that rage? Had his best friend's eyes made him jealous? Or was it that he had stolen the kill that had been his only purpose for all he could remember?

There is buzzing in his ears. It sounds like sobs, like her sobs. He remembers now… even she despises his blood. Never will he forget that look of pure hurt she'd given him. She probably loathes him. He loathes himself too.

His head begins to ache. At first he ignores it, doesn't mind. But soon the headache is too painful to ignore. He realizes by now that the sobbing is actually crying; it sounds like a baby. But how is that possible, he thinks, if he is alone in this desert? Perhaps he just needs some rest. He has time. No purpose means no restraints.

So Sasuke sits down, and Sasuke sleeps, and Sasuke hopes somewhere in his empty heart that when he wakes the sobbing will stop.

* * *

_Crying…_

_Why is…_

_Why is he__…_

_crying__…?_

When Sasuke wakes, it is dark and cool, but the sobbing like a baby's constant cry has not gone. It seems nearer somehow… But Sasuke tries to ignore this mind game, because he does not believe it. Alone is he on this cool Wind Country night; there is no one with him, not anymore.

He is thirsty and quite aware that he has no water. Perhaps an oasis might be near by? Sasuke hopes so, maybe a thirst quenching drink will make the crying stop. So he walks a bit farther into the desert. He has lost count of the kilometers he has traveled. But it does not matter anyway.

For once he ends up lucky; today he locates an oasis. He must be getting closer to Sungakure. Or maybe it is simply the will of a deity shining down upon him. Sasuke's face unknowingly shows light upon the thought of water as he heads for the oasis.

The crying, which by now he had become accustomed to, grows louder with each step. He winces each time his sandals touch the sand, because Sasuke knows what to expect and is rewarded with such.

By the time Sasuke is three steps away from the oasis he can see all clearly yet still cannot find the source of the child's pleas. His feet carry him faster now that the water is in such clear sight. Within a few seconds his head is soaked in cool water and he takes a long drink with the dignity of a warthog. He no longer has his pride, he no longer has his goal, and he no longer has to be civilized.

When he stops his drinking and stares up at the moon he realizes that it is eerily quiet. The crying, the sobbing, has ceased. With his old instincts kicking in he scans the area for an intruder or someone who could perhaps cause him harm. Sasuke nearly jumps out of his skin; there is a small bundle of blankets soaking in the water. A baby's watchful eye looks at him, scans him, never blinking.

At first Sasuke does not believe what he is seeing. Why would a baby be left in the desert? Then, Sasuke notices' the baby's eyes are read and the child is shaking. This boy here is what had been crying for so long. This boy's desperate cries had stopped because of him. This small and timid child had been sobbing?

Sasuke reaches out to touch the child's small hands with his own. Both the baby and he look down at their touching fingers. Sasuke shuts his eyes, thinking that the child will cry – that he, like so many others, will hate him.

On the contrary, the child giggles.

Sasuke adopts a surprised smile, though he does not realize it. He hoists the child up and holds it in both hands. The boy giggles again.

"_Yume_," Sasuke mutters, "_Yume_."

The child watches silently, and for a moment Sasuke thinks he may have even arched an eyebrow.

"I will call you Naruto. You will be my purpose."


	2. Getsuyobi

Thanks to all of you who reviewed, added to alert, and/or favorited!

* * *

_Broken Baby_

Chapter 2: Getsuyobi

* * *

_He doesn't…_

_He's stopped…_

_Why did he suddenly stop?_

* * *

By the next morning, Sasuke arrives at the gates of Sunagakure. In his arms he carries a baby, on his back he carries the burden of a man, and in his heart he holds the guilt of naming the baby boy after Uzumaki Naruto, the man that Sasuke doesn't want to hurt any more.

In front of the gates stand three men. Shinobi, by the looks of their headbands; trained, high leveled shinobi. In their eyes even from far away Sasuke sees the wind of the whole country. In their hearts, worn so obviously on their sleeves, Sasuke can see a nation.

Naruto is silent. In their few hours together, Uchiha Naruto has always been silent.

It is a bizarre name, Sasuke is aware, but when looking down at his bright blue eyes, he wouldn't be satisfied with any other name. The truth is that Sasuke holds so much loathing upon himself and such pain, that though he has given the boy the cursed surname, he believes the bright will of fire that Uzumaki Naruto had held will lead this Naruto through a better life.

It is only a temporary name, either way. When Sasuke reaches and enters Sunagakure, he will have to give the boy to a woman. Sasuke isn't stupid – the child is obviously still in early months, and requires breast-feeding. There is no way he would even risk anything else; Sasuke has seen enough death for a lifetime.

The shinobi at the gate spot him; he is sure of it, because in a flash shuriken are sent hurling at him. Sasuke dodges, but the shuriken cut his shoulder, a small rip in his clothing. In another flash of ninja speed, one of the ninja's kunai is at his throat. Sasuke does not struggle. With a soft thud, Sasuke's eyes close, and he falls to the sand, Naruto outstretched in his hand as though he was offering something to a monarch.

The sand around him shifts, carrying Sasuke and his partner into Sunagakure's walls.

* * *

"Uchiha… Sasuke?"

"Yes, Kazekage-sama. That is correct."

"You're positive…?"

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."

"Have you checked his eyes?"

"For Sharingan, sir?"

"No… not that."

The first thing Sasuke hears when he finds himself conscious once more is an eerily familiar voice, albeit one he has not heard for quite some time. He knows that Sabaku no Gaara is Kazekage, of course; so it is no real surprise to him.

The second thing Sasuke hears when he is awake is that crying; the crying that only yesterday had ceased. Sasuke does not know why Naruto cries, but for all the world he wishes he did. To Sasuke, Naruto's sobs are more painful than being left powerless at the mercy of the Kazekage. Before he may have understood Gaara's eyes, but now he only understood Naruto's.

Sasuke opens his eyes and sees beneath him metal, feels around him metal. Sasuke knows that he is in a cell of some sort; Gaara has not even bothered to tie Sasuke's arm or use a chakra repressor. He can tell easily that Sasuke is weak.

"Uchiha Sasuke…"

That voice of his is frightening even without Shukaku, Sasuke notes.

"You killed him."

There is something about being scolded by Gaara; the sheer hate Sasuke can sense by the one with _ai_on his forehead makes Sasuke more guilty feeling than before. Even still, Sasuke can think only one not entirely rational thought;

_Naruto is still crying_.

"You killed him, Uchiha."

_Why does he cry like that?_

"Uzumaki Naruto…"

_I'd sacrifice myself… if only he would stop…_

"…I will kill you."

Gaara's killer instinct died years ago- Sasuke knows this. He does not even bother to marvel over how he always seems to bring out the worst in everyone. It's simply a law that Sasuke must make stupid choices. Sasuke is unmoving, lost in his thoughts, lost in his horrors.

Sand seeps through the bars fast, surrounding Sasuke.

Yet still…

"Naruto… please stop…"

It has been too long since Sasuke has used the words 'please stop.' He remembers clearly the last time he had asked someone to. It was so long ago… Before the problem began. Before, it seemed, life began.

Gaara's sand has frozen. All pairs of open eyes are wide. The baby's sobs have ceased.

"What did you call him?" Sasuke recognizes this voice, too – Gaara's sister. Temari, was that her name? Sasuke looks up for the first time, and sure enough there she is, standing right beside the kazekage. Naruto is in her arms.

For a long moment Sasuke is silent. What would they do to the boy if he was to explain? He thinks it over, and then he remembered suddenly something much more important. Temari watches him closely, clearly thinking he is a madman. Gaara, too, watches, but he watches Naruto. The kazekage is lost within his own thoughts.

"He needs milk," Sasuke murmurs finally, "I… couldn't get him any." His voice in itself almost disgusts him, such a pleading tone.

"Is that why he's been crying?" Temari asks sharply, "He's thirsty?"

"No…he's been crying since I first entered the desert… I-I think he's lonely…"

"Lonely?" Temari's gaze shifts momentarily onto her youngest brother. She remembers quite clearly how much his eyes have once reflected such loneliness. But… in such a small baby? Loneliness…?

Gaara is no longer staring at the baby boy; his eyes are closed. Whenever Gaara makes a choice as kazekage, his eyes are closed. Green eyes watch him with faint thought, black eyes with desperation watch her. Whatever happened to Uchiha Sasuke to change him so?

Gaara turns around, eyes still closed. He begins to walk away, stopping only by the doorway.

"Let him go."

Gaara is the Kazekage. Gaara may want to hurt him, but the Kazekage does not.

"The boy, Gaara?" Temari asks softly.

"Do whatever," he says, "I don't care."

Temari nods, passing baby Naruto to a guard. The boy starts crying at once and though Temari is annoyed, she says nothing of it. She pulls a sash out of her weapons poucgh and then pulls open Sasuke's cell. His is up immediately, and she ties the sash around his eyes.

"We're only letting you go," Temari informs him, "because of that boy. Sunagakure's police force will be no where near as kind to you as Konoha's, Uchiha."

_Konohagakure doesn't have a police force_, Sasuke thinks, _the job had always been an __Uchiha__ job_._ The ANBU, however…_

She knees him in the back, pushing him forward. From behind Temari guards Sasuke outside of the Kazekage's building, to the other side of Sunagakure. Temari knows that the second Gaara finds Sasuke again the Uchiha's death will be unavoidable.

Naruto cries the whole way. Temari has quickly learned to ignore his cries – her guard, not so much. Sasuke himself can't hear the cries. Temari has blocked his ears.

Finally, Sasuke feels the cloth around his eyes loosen and fall. His ear plugs are pulled out, and he can hear again Naruto's sobs. Temari takes the child from the shinobi who was holding him previously and passes the boy to Sasuke. Naruto immediately falls silent. Sasuke looks down warily, and Naruto giggles.


	3. Kayobi

_Broken Baby_

Chapter 3: Kayobi

* * *

"We'll allow you to stay in Suna," Temari had told him, "Just don't let Gaara see your face."

This isn't much of a problem for Sasuke; he does not play to stay in Sunagakure for long. He will only stay long enough to find Naruto a home that he is content with. It is strange, really, how Naruto is; almost as though he is broken.

For one, Naruto cries constantly when he is unable to see or sense Sasuke. Naruto does not cry for food. In fact, Naruto has not had anything to consume since Sasuke last gave him water over a day ago. Sasuke does not understand why Naruto does not cry because of dehydration.

_Because Naruto's thirst is for Sasuke's respect_.

Another strange thing about the baby boy is his sleep patterns. Naruto sleeps only when Sasuke is asleep, never when Sasuke is awake. Sasuke knows this because whenever he wakes, he finds the boy's eyes closed, but seconds afterwards, they open. It is almost as though Naruto thinks Sasuke might up and leave if he doesn't keep watch.

_But you already know what that feels like, don't you?_

Naruto, Sasuke also finds out, is stronger than he. While Sasuke begins to feel sick instantly when he tastes their breakfast, the boy is fine. It isn't that the boy likes the flavor either – Naruto's face is pale and he pulls a face, but nothing more.

Sasuke, on the other hand, is a sickly green and needs to retch. He does so in a waste bin before he hears the first official sound of his new obstacle.

_Achoo!_

Sasuke looks at Naruto with a confused expression. Naruto's nose is pink.

_When-?_

_Achoo!_

The baby sneezes again in a petit burst. If perhaps Sasuke was a girl he would marvel at how cute the boy sounded. However, before Sasuke can even think of what this means, he too sneezes, unceremoniously confirming that both Sasuke and Naruto have caught colds. Sasuke does not pause to think of how or from where they had gotten sick. It's probably because of staying outside too long a few nights before, anyway.

The more important thought pattern is what Sasuke would have to do to keep both he and Naruto at bay. Sasuke is not stupid – he knows that babies' colds are much more severe than adult's colds, and he remembers quite clearly just how weak the cursed seal has made his own immunity system. He hopes that he isn't rendered be-ridden like last time, because as much as he doesn't like admitting it, if it weren't for Kabuto, he would be dead.

Another sneeze sends Sasuke totally out of his thoughts and he is suddenly very glad that Temari had heart enough to allow him to stay in a Sunagakure apartment. Clearly, they think he is insane, but Sasuke does not care what they think as long as Naruto is healthy.

Sasuke picks the boy up and wraps the small body in a warm blanket before he creeps open the door and steps out, baby in hand. The two sneeze once more, right after which Naruto giggles and Sasuke wonders what is so funny. Sasuke holds the boy up so he can see his smiling, snotty face.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke asks childishly.

If Naruto had plans to answer, Sasuke quickly cuts them off. He senses something strange, something unwelcome. His shinobi senses aren't completely diminished after all. Sasuke covers Naruto's mouth and closes his eyes. His ancestors would be very ashamed of him in a few moments; Sasuke actives his Sharingan, something he hasn't done in a long time. It stings in more than one way.

_The copy wheel, Sasuke?__ So the __Uchihas__ were a clan of cheats from the beginning? Is it hereditary? _

The shinobi around him aren't being very discreet on purpose, and Sasuke knows this. Do they want something from him? It's easily accessible knowledge from the way they speak that they are Konoha ninja.

_You can identify us easily, Sasuke; it's something you'll never forget. They carry a __sweet smell__ of home, don't they?_

They do, Sasuke will tell his mother if he sees her again, but I think it's a stench.

Against Sasuke's palm, he feels the quivering lip of Naruto; with dread it dawns on him that both he and Naruto have colds. Sneezing isn't optional – you do it or you die. It is also impossible for one to sneeze with their eyes open.

He has not the mind to think of a good ninja plan immediately, so Sasuke backs up into his door. This is a mistake. The ninja take the noise he makes as an 'allowing noise' – they leap into action, and seconds later Sasuke's door is broken down and he and Naruto are cornered by four Konoha ANBU.

They notice Sasuke's second mistake.

"Sharingan. Confirmed."

And his third.

The squad leader takes along look at the baby in Sasuke's arms. Sasuke does not move, staring long and hard at the ANBU. He'd heard that voice somewhere before…

"Subject. Confirmed."

The voice is deep with an edge of soft emotion. The mask is a hawk, the shinobi's long brunette locks delicately in place around his face. Sasuke holds the boy to his bosom subconsciously when the Konoha-ninja continues to speak to an unknown leader.

"A name?" says Hawk sharply, "Of the boy?" Sasuke feels Naruto tremble once against his body, but only once. Naruto is brave. "Does it matter?" The talking Hawk receives a message and for a second freezes, a hawk caught in shock. All the while, Sasuke watches the ANBU exchange. He knows there is no point in escaping.

"Forget it, Hawk. Why don't we just kill him?" A subordinate speaks. A kunai finds itself embedded in his arm within seconds.

"We do not sacrifice human lives with no need. I many not like him, but it is not in our orders to end his life."

Sasuke's voice is throaty and barely recognizable. "Then what are you here for?"

Hawk turns sharply to face Sasuke – he could talk? Well then, he'd get straight to the point.

"We are here," Hawk says clearly, a hint of doubt apparent in his voice, "to capture and imprison Uchiha Sasuke by the word of the Hokage." Hawk's mask's eyes look Sasuke directly in the eye. Sasuke nods, holding Naruto tighter to his chest.

Hawk asks: "You're willing to come freely?" Hawk is obviously confused. The masked shinobi is surprised when Sasuke does not answer his question directly; Sasuke caring for someone other than himself is something he didn't count on. But the way Sasuke holds the boy in his arms…

"What of him?" Sasuke's Sharingan disappears and he holds out a shivering baby boy for Hawk to see. Naruto sneezes. Hawk is silent for a moment. Then, astonishing his comrades and the man in front of him, Hawk pulls off his mask. A green manji…

"Hyuuga Neji…"

Neji is silent as he takes in the boy's image completely, naturally. He pauses at the boy's blue eyes; those lonely eyes, yet still so brave eyes.

"His name is 'Naruto,' isn't it?"

White eyes meet black. Sasuke nods.

Neji takes his stance.


	4. Suiyobi

**Notes: **So I totally pulled the whole "Stone of Memory" thing out of my butt. And I'm sorry it took longer than expected. Sadly, I think that pattern will continue for the next few chapters. Sorry!

* * *

_Broken Baby_

Chapter 4: Suiyobi

* * *

The stillness of the night stares—no, _glares_—at him, a mocking smirk on the moon's reflection in the water. His eyes ache with tiredness and his body is sore in places he didn't know he could feel, but most of all his heart cries out when he painfully recalls the past four days.

The Land of Fire lays just one step beyond his feet, beyond the river of the Valley of the End. Sasuke's stomach feels uncomfortable when he looks out at the First's statue from atop Uchiha Madara. Memories of the past four days aren't the only things he recalls.

_"I'm going to bring you home even if I have to break every bone in your body!"_

"Even when he's dead," Sasuke decides, "he's still trying to bring me back." Sasuke sighs and stands, staring hopelessly across the valley. What Neji said is the truth; if he takes even one step into the Land of Fire's territory, Neji is permitted to kill him and Naruto on the spot, no questions asked. After all, Sasuke is banished – not that he deserved such a blessing – and Naruto was in his possession, making the baby a possible threat to Konohagakure and all its people.

But what hurts the most isn't that Neji had taken Naruto; Sasuke knows perfectly well that Naruto will be taken care of at Konohagakure, the ever welcoming village. No, what hurts the most is how Naruto went _quietly_. For the past week Naruto's sobs were all that Sasuke heard when he was in the hands of someone other than himself. Yet strangely with Neji the baby boy stayed silent, even cuddled up comfortably, content with his new caretaker.

Sasuke turns his head and looks behind him. The endless trees and stars only continue further into the depths of other nations. He is allowed to go to them, but what is the point? Sasuke had a point, a reason, but now it's gone. Like the last one, someone stole the dream from him.

Sasuke's stomach growls and he feels queasy. His illness has gotten worse over the past four days. He has not properly eaten or drank or even slept, and so he only grows all the more sickly each minute. Sasuke wonders how Naruto is doing… Fast-paced travelling isn't good for infants his age.

When the thought of Naruto enters his head, Sasuke stops, closes his eyes. "Naruto…"

_"I never go back on my word! That's my nindo!"_

"I said earlier… that you would be my purpose"

Sasuke opens his eyes and balls his hand into a fist, a determined look on his face.

"…I meant it."

* * *

"Tsunade-sama," the smooth-voiced Hawk begins, "I don't think you understand." Under his mask Neji bits his lip and flinches when the baby's cries erupt once more.

In front of him stands Tsunade, Konohagakure's Fifth Hokage. Curiously she takes the boy and inspects him, thinking perhaps that the boy could be a fake or maybe he is bugged. Everywhere she checks him; in his messy mop of blonde hair, under his armpits, even inside his diaper. Yet she finds nothing and scratches he head, still suspicious. All the while, the infant continues his unstopping cry. Finally, she snaps.

"Oh, _shut up!_" she barks. For a moment her command is successful and carried out. After brown eyes meet blue, however, the boy's eyes begin to water again. Hawk watches warily all the while, wondering when the madness would cease.

"_Tsunade-sama_," Hawk repeats, "Please _stop_. You really don't get it, do you?"

The Fifth passes the boy to Hawk, who rips off his mask and looks down at the boy with concern. The sobbing ceases and Neji thinks for a second that his eyes are playing games with him; was Naruto _smirking_?

"What," Tsunade says finally, both hands on her desk to boast her up, "am I not understanding?" She stands and etched in her face Neji can plainly see signs of aging. Though she may look exactly the same as seven years ago on the inside, Tsunade's time is nearing. "Well?"

Her strong voice brings him back to reality and Neji explains what is so hard for her to grasp.

"First of all," he stands tall, as thought he was giving a report on the whereabouts of an enemy, "as the Kazekage said, Uchiha Sasuke and his small companion were found in a small apartment at the far end of Sunagakure." The boy sneezes, and perhaps, miles off, so does Sasuke.

Tsunade nods and motions with her hand for him to continue. Neji also nods. Wind blows through the open window, scattering a few of Tsunade's papers. When Neji's eyes find Tsunade's, she does not break the contact and listens with her eyes, ears, and heart.

"After reporting to Kazekage-sama," Neji says his words slowly, making no mistake, "we were told once again the briefing of the mission. He, however, made it clear that he wanted Uchiha Sasuke dead." Neji pauses, looks around the room a bit with Byakugan, and notes naught but a butterfly. He relaxes; Tsunade doesn't remember when he first grew tense.

"We were in touch with Gaara the whole time. When we cornered Uchiha, he told us to identify him by the name of the child he was holding."

Tsunade's heart tells her the name before her head can even digest the idea.

"…Naruto…?"

Her whisper is lost with the wind.

* * *

The wind of Konohagakure is much chiller than that of Sunagakure. Sasuke knows this well, and though he does not shiver, the cold stings his skin when he runs far too fast. He used to run atop the roof top in weather like this, one of the only among the youth who never bothered to use the streets to get to somewhere important.

The gates of Konohagakure are more welcoming that that of Sunagakure. Indeed, the gates have been painted upon with vibrant colors. Sasuke bites his lip when he stands in front of the gate, waiting for something in the distant darkness. He does not know what he is waiting for.

Sasuke takes a breath and with closed eyes takes a step. There is silence, save for the chirping of a cricket's song of false calmness and romance. He is not immediately ambushed by familiar faces. On the contrary, Konohagakure's inhabitants all are comfortably asleep inside their homes, all of the village's lights off.

Except for one.

Sasuke recognizes the lone apartment immediately – it is a small tattered thing, near the office of the Hokage and with the best view of the cliff in the whole village. He'd been to the room only a few times in the past. Sasuke struggles to remember what it looked like. Certainly it had been messy – and at the time he'd sneered at the mess – but why could he not remember anything else?

Sasuke takes another step forward into the village and almost trips from a rock in his pathway. Oh… he must have forgotten. The Stone of Memory; the large pebble that has never shifted since it first refused to move so many years ago, had since then remained. If Konohagakure remembers one, accepts one, the one can miss it subconsciously.

Sasuke tries not to laugh. He thought before that perhaps nothing else could hate him. The village proves him incorrect. Naruto has made Sasuke too optimistic.

…Naruto. Naruto!

With a burst of pure instinct, Sasuke bolts straight into the town and to the only lit apartment in sight (_-of course it's lit, he'__s always been bright-) _and doesn't stop, because he doesn't want to stop, because he _can't _stop.

And he may not realize it, but Sasuke smiles through his determination. Maybe it's because he knows what he'll find, maybe it's not, but Sasuke smiles because he has found a dream. He closes his eyes as he runs, he opens his soul, and he soars; soars in a place he once called home. For a moment, this one pure moment, he is not Uchiha Sasuke. He is Sasuke, just Sasuke, free of guilt and pressure and pains.

He sees colors fly by as he passes them. He sees red and orange and yellow, the colors of warmth and of family, and they remind him of fresh fruits and the ones he used to pick with his mother. He sees greens and blues and purples, those that remind him of what he had and what he left, but for the one pure white moment they don't make him feel regret or satisfied. He feels but one pure thing: free.

To run from the gate of Konohagakure to the apartment takes only two minutes. Sasuke doesn't want to end yet, so he runs more, and he passes all through the place of his birth and childhood. He passes the bridge, he sees a training area, but then he goes back even _further. _Sasuke passes a park and an academy, restaurants and funny stores that he never liked. And he feels right.

He passes the Stone of Memory again after he visits elsewhere. After thirty minutes, Sasuke is accepted by the village itself, though perhaps not the people. Finally he stops running and his smile remains. He walks this time to the apartment where he knew before he was to go feeling elated, free, _right_.

"It's you… isn't it?"

His feelings of belonging and freedom are gone within seconds when he hears her voice. She'd never been soft spoken, but the soft laughter in her speech could easily be mistaken for coldness.

"I don't understand you, Sasuke."

_-kun_, he adds silently.

He does not turn to look at her. The wind blows hard yet gentle and the silence suggests to both of them that the other is gone. They know better.

When he speaks, his voice is brimming with nostalgia.

"Go home and sleep."

"And what the god-damn hell will that accomplish, Sasuke? Feel free to tell me whatever you're back for." He does not speak. She resists the urge to laugh. "I can scream. We both know you're not allowed back here."

He is silent for quite some time before he answers.

"I came… for him."

Sakura is silent. She doesn't know who 'him' is. Her curiosity takes control of her impulse. The wind whispers songs into her ear, lullabies that she wishes are true.

"Who?"

He stiffens, knowing what is about to come. He won't blame her.

"…Naruto."

Her movements are swift and graceful. One moment she's behind him, the next her fist is connecting with his face and he catches a glimpse of her green eyes. They are tired he notices, and they are red.

Her first punch is hard even though it is half-hearted. Sasuke falls back onto the street, not bothering to keep his feet stabilized. "What—" Sakura punches him again, her eyes not meeting his, "—is the matter" again her fist meets his body, embedding him deeper and deeper into the rough road, "—with you?"

The crickets are silenced by her small uproar. Their breathing is all they can hear in the world. The color of Sasuke's world drains to black and white and when she tries to catch his eyes, he avoids looking into her's. Sakura's eyes see a red world.

"Look at me."

Sakura tries to force the eye-contact. Sasuke desperately looks the other way. He's not sure why he's afraid.

"Sasuke-kun. Look at me."

The suffix catches him off-guard. Her knees falter and she lands on his legs, but he does not wince. The wind has completely halted its whisper, her song over. Sakura's eyes are shaking – or maybe that's just his shivering – and he sees one color that isn't black or white; green.

His black meet her green.

The world is silent. Their eyes are not.

Her eyes tell him a story of pain and fake cover-ups, of wanting to start over. Of trying to start over. Of almost succeeding, until he had to come again. Green, the color of life and rebirth. Haruno Sakura; cherry-blossom of the Spring, ready to start anew whenever she must.

His eyes tell her a story of pain and risks, of wishing he could start over, but never actually _trying _over because of one failure. Once he tried, once he failed, never did he try again. Black, the color of darkness and failure and depression. Uchiha Sasuke; a paper fan, a legend, a destined killer.

Maybe it lasts a few seconds, maybe an hour, they don't know. It has been years since they had good looks of each other. So much has changed… but only so little is not what remains. His smile is still reserved for only a single spirit, her forgiveness is ready still for only one soul.

"I… understand," Sasuke whispers after a while, "I understand that it's all my fault." He doesn't know if she hears him.

She shuffles with herself and stands, moving her weight from Sasuke's body to her feet and takes a few steps forward, her back to him. Sasuke pushes himself up slowly and can see clearly that Sakura is shaking.

"W-what are you doing here? Why did you come back?"

For a second he thinks that maybe he shouldn't tell her. It's only a second.

"I… lost something. I've come to get it back."

She turns, fast, and he sees the tears on her face.

"You're not getting it back!" _You never lost it, Sasuke. You killed it._

Sasuke does not ask what she is talking about.

"I promised him."

She closes her eyes when he steps forward.

"I told him I wouldn't let him get hurt."

Suddenly, she is afraid and she steps back, eyes wide. "Don't kill me!"

Sasuke is in shock at first, but then his eyes shrink in size. To her he still hasn't changed. "Sakura…" He extends his arm in hopes that it is a familiar or comforting gesture.

"Stay back!" _I'm afraid of your touch_. She steps back further.

"I'd never want to hurt you!"

"Shut up! Just _shut up_!"

He is quiet. She gives him her last favor.

"Sasuke-kun. If-if you leave now, I-I won't tell that you were ever here." Sakura is not suggesting - she is requesting.

In his ears he can feel his heart beat. He closes his eyes, and seriously considers Sakura's request. Then he remembers the giggle, and the desperate cries of Naruto. He has already spent enough time stalling. Naruto… it is time to stop ignoring his pleas.

"I… I can't do that."

"Then I'll scream," she says solemnly, "I mean it."

"Sakura, I—"

"No, Sasuke. They'll kill you. I don't—I don't want that." _I don't want to be more alone than I already am._ "Please," she chokes on her words, "_please_." There is a knot in her throat and more tears threaten to fall out. The moment she'd been waiting for arrives. Her voice is barely above a whisper when in desperation she pleads, "_Leave_."

"I—"

Her steps are loud when she turns her back on her childhood dream, the knot in her throat still there and a feeling of unexplained loss in her chest. Sasuke does not attempt to follow, just watches her leave. Just this time, he chooses to not add on to her pains when they meet.

So Sakura leaves this time, and it is Sasuke's turn to just watch.


	5. Mokuyobi

I'm sorry I've made you all wait so long for a filler chapter. The next two should be a huge improvement since they are they are the last ones. (And more importantly, Friday is 'Kin'yobi' – Gold Day.)

* * *

_Broken Baby_

Chapter 5: Mokuyobi

* * *

The weak old door opens easily when Sasuke pushes with blunt force. At first, Sasuke is satisfied when the house decides to allow him in, but when he sees the inside his thoughts are completely different.

The inside of the old clan leader's home is covered in a blanket of dust. There are several cobwebs in corners, and the couch is ripped to shreds because of what he can only assume was a catfight. There are several trails of animal prints around the area made from both mud and displaced dust. He strives to remember what his home used to look like. He learns to appreciate a woman's natural ability to keep her home clean, something that he detested when he was smaller.

Though he does not smell anything (his nose is still quite useless because of his slowly worsening cold), Sasuke can hear the shuffling and squealing of a rat infestation somewhere upstairs. It does not bother him – he has no true choice where to stay this night anyway. He can tell it's going to rain.

_The rain poured down hard. A furious waterfall was dumping its content on the poor inhabitants of Konohagakure. Sasuke scowled at the sky. Today, Kakashi had claimed that he was stopped by an unfortunate kitten in need, and after that he'd said that it was going to rain and that the three of them has waited an hour for nothing. It didn't explain to Sasuke why his sensei's hair was disheveled, but Sasuke hadn't bothered complaining aloud._

_He passed through the town on the roads for once since he'd practiced a quick chidori after his sensei had left. As mush as he preferred the roof, Sasuke's chidori often left Sasuke vulnerable during rainstorms and to electricity, so he had to lay low. The people around him were all bustling about underneath umbrellas, frantically searching for shelter. Being wet didn't bother him that much so he didn't care to speed up._

_The sky roared and a second later flashed. The speed of the downpour doubled. He heard a small girl squeal and saw her hug her mother's leg for comfort. Sasuke wasn't frightened, but he quickened his pace for the long walk home. His current home was farther off than the Uchiha clan's compound just around the block._

_Thunder crashed again and lightning struck a pole – an electricity pole. A glorious explosion of light could be seen in the sky, and a short-circuit followed. All of the lights in Konohagakure shut off. Few places had generators, since storms of this caliber rarely occurred in the Land of Fire. Sasuke barely registered another increase in his speed. _

_He remembered a single storm in his life like this – it had been when he and his mother were home alone because his brother and father were off on missions. He remembered praying for them alongside his mother, and then they had cleaned the house, because it calmed his mother down. It had calmed him down too, even if he was tired afterwards._

"_Big brother!" a boy cried out suddenly to someone ahead of him, because he'd gotten lose. "Wait!"_

_Sasuke froze._

_The elder brother looked back and could only gape at his sibling._(-Thunder roared loud, it was close, too close-)

"_Big brother!" The boy tried to run forward to the safety of his elder brother but tripped and fell into a puddle. Lightning was about to strike again. Sasuke couldn't close his eyes. The boy's brother could. He was ushered inside against his will when Sasuke wasn't looking his way._

("…Raikiri, the lightning blade. I once used it to cut a bolt of lightning right in half…")

_The lightning struck. The boy screamed. Sasuke yelled out._

(Why doesn't this hurt as must as it should?)

_The lightning struck Sasuke, who had not moved since the boy called out to his brother. Sasuke yelled out, but no one but the fallen child heard him. His hands twitched twice and then the electricity left him numb… but nothing else. It must've been pure luck that Sasuke's chakra type would neutralize the effect._

_The crashing was farther away now. The boy picked himself up as the only witness of what had just happened._

"_A-are you-?"_

"_I'm fine. Go inside."_

_The boy nodded and ran to the door through which his brother had escaped before. With a glance at the furious sky, Sasuke began to run again, running to his apartment which was still so far away._

_He reached a fork in a road where a tree had fallen in his path. Sasuke was tempted to just jump over the large tree but decided not to risk using his chakra to boost him up. He knew what the storm was trying to tell him. He just wished he wasn't forced to obey. He took the turn and was now only a minute's walk from his inherited property._

_The door was hard to open – it had been left shut for years. It took a few tries, and then Sasuke stepped into his old home._

_His room was the same. So were his nightmares. _Fire invades his dreams that night. At first he thinks he is trapped in a flame trying to get to him, but then with a jolt he realizes the hot, burning fire came from inside him. He notes the dying embers of sakura trees and tries to stop himself but he can't; something else is controlling him.

* * *

Desperately he tries to fight but the flamethrower in his mouth refuses. Far off he can see a star and he tries to reach it but his arms are too short. The star grows brighter but still Sasuke cannot reach and he tries and fails to take the hand of the sun but he just _can't_and he _knows_he can't but he tries anyway. The star knows it too though and begins its retreat getting faster and faster each moment.

"No! Wait!"

It freezes, surprising him. The wild flames in and around his body stop and he doesn't breathe _katon_any longer. Sasuke tries to run to the far off star, but he stops. The star is approaching him fast, ready to burn him and his lungs are on fire and—

"_Naruto_!"

He wakes in a cold sweat, his heart pounding at a pace that can rival the speed of Rock Lee. The bed is cold, not anywhere near as warm as it should be since he has been asleep for at least four hours. Rain is falling down hard on the ceiling. The curtains are wet from water that leaked through the dirty old glass window panes.

Out of bed in a few minutes, Sasuke decides that he will not be able to sleep anytime soon. The thunder outside is loud but he doesn't mind; in Otogakure, he learned to force sounds to blend into the background. His well-trained ears adapt quickly to the rhythm of the storm.

With nothing better to do for the remaining hour of the night, Sasuke explores the rooms of his old home. First he looks at his closet, but once he takes a look inside he shuts the door with no intention of opening it again. The crest of his clan had once been embedded into everything he wore, something that he abandoned the moment he realized that he wanted nothing more to do with the name.

He silently steps out of his room, unaware of what he is afraid of, into his parents' old room.

It is exactly the same as they left it.

He turns fast, shuts the door, runs all the way to his bed and breathes deeply. Something about the split-second glance of the room made his claustrophobic, like the walls were closing in on

him and the room was crowded with spirits or demons or _something_and he just hasn't been able to breathe.

Dawn is approaching. Light begins to creep in through the windows and the house is slowly illuminated. Konohagakure will be waking up soon. Time to act.


End file.
